Arividerchi and Bonjour!

I will just have to accept that that I won't be able to keep this blog updated in detail.

Hiking in the Highlands of Scotland was a good experience, despite the torrential rains... But that is to be expected in Scotland - it is part of the experience. Hannah caught a terrible cold/ cough that didn't appear until Ireland, so she insists it is Ireland's fault and still isn't sure if she likes Ireland. I enjoyed the country side and the brewery tours, but disliked Dublin. No disrespect to Dan, I didn't expect him to clean the city for us.

Italy was incredible! It is unfortunate that my Italian family weren't back to good health, though it gives great reason to go again. Before visiting Italy I didn't think of it as a beach destination, however it is necessary in the summer as otherwise the average Canadian would blister and pop. I know I almost did while hiking in the Chinque-Terre on the North West coast. We didn't allocate enough time there, though it may only be a 5 hour hike, exploring the towns and avoiding being on the hills in strong sun light is impossible to do in a day. We headed back to Rome after the hike in time to see John who was down to visit with Eve. We had another desquestingly delicious large dinner, enjoying the incredible Italian hospitality. It took a whole day on the beach to digest.

Paulo insists that it is normal size dinner, and that after a wedding meal no one wants to dance - just find a peaceful place to die.

A few mishaps with the Italian trains (who haven't caught on to the great Italian hospitality) we arrived in Paris (2 hours late only) to have Mr. Kennedy kindly greet us at the gate. Looking forward to exploring Paris.

Any body who would like more details will just have to ask in comment or an email, and depending on the content I'll either reply directly or post more on this blog.

(French keyboards are much more confusing than Italian... This has taken way to long)

Ciao Ciao

So, I have been horrible at keeping up this blog, but here is a short post to say that I am alive and well. Since the last post we met up with my cousin Mark and his girlfriend Rebecca in Edinburgh, visited my Uncle John in Dundee, and Granny, hiked in the Highlands, been to Ireland and caught up with our good friend Dublin Dan, went through a whirlwind tour of Brussels, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Munich, got lost in Venice (as should be expected) and have been exploring Roma since then.

Unfortunately while in Edinburgh Mark was nearing his final exams (which sound much tougher than Canadian exams) and we were not able to spend as much time together as we would have liked. However, as fate (or coeincidence) would have it we may be in Paris at the same time, in which case we can meet up again. We were warmly welcomed in Dundee by my Uncle who fortunately had the day off when we arrived. The Scottish weather was not as welcoming. My gran has a spectacular memory and mind, it was nice to talk to her again and introduce her to Hannah.

More to come about Scotland through Italy after the beach...

Ciao